Sarah Mellor, 30, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of her husband

A Woodford County grand jury has indicted Sarah Kelch Mellor, 30, a Bloomington high school Spanish teacher charged with first-degree murder in the Oct. 16 stabbing death of her husband, Mark Mellor, 31.

The jury convened on Nov. 3 to find probable cause that the defendant committed the crime. In light of the jury’s decision, Mellor will next have to enter a plea. Mellor is scheduled to appear in the courtroom of Woodford County Circuit Judge Mike Stroh at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 8.

Mellor remains in custody at the Woodford County Jail on $1 million bond. She has retained criminal defense attorney Stephanie M. Wong of Bloomington.

Mellor and her husband were camping Oct. 16 at a private campground when the stabbing occurred just before midnight. Mark Mellor’s family transported him to Normal’s  Advocate BroMenn Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 12:15 a.m.

According to a police report obtained by Chronicle Media through a Freedom of Information Act, two Normal Police patrlomen were dispatched to the hospital at 12:08 a.m. and were informed that Mellor was dead, and were told to preserve evidence at the hospital.

Officer Smith reported, “When I arrived Officer McNicol was already on scene and was standing by with a vehicle … that was parked right by the front entrance to the ER. In the back of the truck there was a large amount of blood. On the ground, leading away from the truck, there was a trail of blood as well.

Bloomington High School Spanish teacher Sarah Mellor with her husband Mark Mellor in April of this year. The Mellor’s were married Nov. 7, 2013. (Photo courtesy of Sarah Mellor’s Facebook)

“I informed Officer McNicol to stand by with the truck and ensure that no one makes entry into the vehicle or disturbs the bed of the truck. Officer Smith arrived shortly after I did. I directed him into the ER and told him to standby with a female who had accompanied the decedent to Bromenn. Officer Long arrived on scene as well and I had him standby with the body until relieved by Woodford County.”

McClean County Coroner Dr. Kathy Davis determined Mellor’s death was due to a stab wound to the chest. The Woodford County State’s Attorney’s Office said the weapon used is a hunting survival knife.

Funeral services were Oct. 21 at Carmody-Flynn Funeral Home. Mellor was described as being connected to nature, “a person who would have enjoyed life if born in an earlier era.”

Sarah Mellor taught at Bloomington High School for eight years, earning a Masters of Education from Illinois State University in 2015.

“They were both really great people who would take the shirt off their back for you,” a relative said. “No one could of (sic) ever predicted this could happen. So much confusion.”

Mark and Sarah Mellor shared a passion for outdoor activities and travel, and much of the conversation on social networking sites, such as Facebook, show sympathy to both.

“They were both really great people who would take the shirt off their back for you,” wrote one relative. “No one could of ever predicted this could happen. So much confusion.”

— Bloomington wife indicted on first degree murder in husband’s death —